Mississippi State 65, Loyola (Ill.) 64 (OT): Craig Sword scored a game-high 24 points and Roquez Johnson added a career-best 20 as the Bulldogs held on at home.

Johnson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Mississippi State (5-1), which took its largest lead of the game - 44-38 - on Sword's layup with just over 12 minutes left and improved to 5-0 in Starkville this season. The Bulldogs missed 11 of their 28 free throws, which allowed the Ramblers, who were making their first visit to Mississippi, to stay in the game.

Milton Doyle had a team-high 22 points for Loyola (3-5), which fell to 2-1 all-time against the Bulldogs. Christian Thomas added 12 points and Devon Turk had 10 for the Ramblers, who beat Mississippi State last season and first played the Bulldogs in 1963.

Doyle's 3-pointer with 1:09 left in regulation tied it at 56. Johnson missed two free throws with 46 seconds remaining before Sword missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Sword's three-point play with 1:41 left in overtime gave the Bulldogs the lead for good at 64-62. Thomas' basket with 33 seconds left brought Loyola to within 65-64 before Mississippi State survived when Doyle missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: This season marks Loyola's first as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference after 34 years in the Horizon League. ... The Bulldogs, who lost at Utah State 87-68 on Nov. 23, don't play their next road game until Dec. 22, when they visit South Florida. ... Thomas has scored in double figures in 24 consecutive games, the longest streak by a Rambler since Javan Goodman also did it 24 straight games in 1997-98.